Mid-Pentecost or Midfeast, also Meso-Pentecost (from ; ) is a

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

which occurs during the Paschal season in the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

and those

Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of ...

and Eastern Lutheran Churches that follow the

Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, is a liturgical rite that is identified with the wide range of cultural, devotional, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Chri ...

. Mid-Pentecost celebrates the midpoint between the Feasts of Pascha (Easter) and

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Day, Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spiri ...

. Specifically, it falls on the 25th day of Pascha. At the feast of Mid-Pentecost, a Small Blessing of the Waters is traditionally performed after the liturgy of the feast. Mid-Pentecost is a one-week feast which begins on the 4th Wednesday of Pascha, and continues until the following Wednesday. That is to say, it has an

Afterfeast An Afterfeast, or Postfeast, is a period of celebration attached to one of the Great Feasts celebrated by the Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox Christian and Eastern Catholic Churches (somewhat analogous to what in Western Christianity would be ca ...

of seven days. Throughout these eight days (including the day of the feast)

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

s of Mid-Pentecost are joined to those of the Paschal season. Many of the hymns from the first day of the feast are repeated on the Apodosis (leave-taking of the feast). Although it is ranked as a Feast of the Lord and has an Afterfeast, Mid-Pentecost itself is not considered to be one of the

Great Feast In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the feast of the death and Resurrection of Jesus, called Pascha (Easter), is the greatest of all holy days and as such it is called the "feast of feasts". Immediately below it in importance, there is a group of T ...

s of the

church year The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year, ecclesiastical calendar, or kalendar, consists of the cycle of Christian liturgy, liturgical days and seasons that determines when feast days, including Calendar of saints, c ...

. The liturgical texts for the feast are found in the ''

Pentecostarion The Pentecostarion (, ; , , literally "Flowery Triodon"; ) is the liturgical book used by the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches that includes the texts for the Paschal Season, but varies in exact span between different tradition ...

'' (the

liturgical book A liturgical book, or service book, is a book published by the authority of a church body that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official Church service, religious services. Christianity Roman Rite In the Roman Rite of ...

containing

propers The proper (Latin: ''proprium'') is a part of the Christian liturgy that varies according to the date, either representing an observance within the liturgical year, or of a particular saint or significant event. The term is used in contrast to the ...

for the period from Pascha to

). There are three

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

readingsI. e., Micah 4:2-3, 5; 6:2-5, 8; 5:4-5. Isaiah 55:3-4; 55:2-13. Proverbs 9;1-11. appointed for

Vespers Vespers /ˈvɛspərz/ () is a Christian liturgy, liturgy of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic liturgy, Eastern Catholic liturgical rites), Eastern Orthodox, Oriental O ...

; but, uniquely, no Matins Gospel. In some places an

All-Night Vigil The All-night vigil is a service of the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches consisting of an aggregation of the canonical hours of Compline (in Greek usage only), Vespers (or, on a few occasions, Great Compline), Matins, and the ...

is celebrated for this feast, though a Vigil is not called for in the

Typicon A typikon (or ''typicon'', ''typica''; , "that of the prescribed form"; Church Slavonic: ') is a liturgical book which contains instructions about the order of the Byzantine Rite office and variable hymns of the Divine Liturgy. Historical de ...

(book of

rubric A rubric is a word or section of text that is traditionally written or printed in red ink for emphasis. The word derives from the Latin , meaning red ochre or red chalk, and originates in medieval illuminated manuscripts from the 13th century or ...

s). At the

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy () or Holy Liturgy is the usual name used in most Eastern Christian rites for the Eucharistic service. The Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Lutheranism, Eastern Lutheran Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church believe the Divi ...

, the reading from the

Apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

is . The theme of the feast is Christ as Teacher and the

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

of the feast depicts the young Jesus in the

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Accord ...

speaking with the Elders (), the first biblical example of Jesus as teacher (

Rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

) following Passover. The Bar Mitzva of Jesus at this time corresponds to the traditional winter birth of Jesus according to all Orthodox Churches since it usually takes place when a boy is 12 and a half. In traditional Orthodox icons of this subject, the figure of Jesus is depicted larger than those of the Elders, showing his superior spiritual status. The

Troparion A troparion (Greek , plural: , ; Georgian: , ; Church Slavonic: , ) in Byzantine music and in the religious music of Eastern Orthodox Christianity is a short hymn of one stanza, or organised in more complex forms as series of stanzas. The wi ...

of the Feast hints at the encounter of Jesus with the

Samaritan Woman The Samaritan woman at the well is a figure from the Gospel of John. John 4:4–42 relates her conversation with Jesus in Christianity, Jesus at Jacob's Well near the city of Sychar. Biblical account The woman appears in : This episode tak ...

, which will be celebrated on the following Sunday:

In the middle of the Feast, O Savior, fill my thirsting soul with the waters of godliness, as Thou didst cry to all: 'If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink' (). O Christ God, Fountain of our life, glory be to Thee!

The scripture verse from John 7, quoted by the Troparion, will be read three weeks later on the day of Pentecost. Mid-Pentecost, has historically been the Altar Feast of the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (Istanbul).

Notes

External links

*
Midfeast of Pentecost
Orthodox

and

synaxarion Synaxarion or Synexarion (plurals Synaxaria, Synexaria; , from συνάγειν, ''synagein'', "to bring together"; cf. etymology of '' synaxis'' and ''synagogue''; Latin: ''Synaxarium'', ''Synexarium''; ; Ge'ez: ሲናክሳሪየም(ስንክ� ...

From Pascha to Pentecost: The Penticostarion period / Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto
{{Easter Eastern Orthodox liturgical days Byzantine Rite Pentecost Eastertide Holidays based on the date of Easter April observances May observances Folk calendar of the East Slavs